On July 9th a friend from Denmark is visiting me and we want to do a full day MTB tour somewhere in Switzerland.

I started on MTB'ing this year only so I have no personal experience in where to go to find the "ultimate trail" which includes a good workout and a fantastic scenic view.

Of course I have checked EF for tips and hints and in particular I have read this post and the MTB tour suggestions in the same thread.

The tour I am looking for must be a 3-4 in terms of Physical Fitness and 2-3 in Technical Difficulty with reference to Eire's criteria in before mentioned post.

This tour (Val D'Uina, Scuol) sounds great (even though I cannot see the pictures) but is unfortunately 200 km away from my base. Maybe it is worth the hassle of driving there anyway....yeah?

If you have any other good suggestions of similar tours, but maybe a bit closer to Bülach/ZH I will be very happy to read your comments.

And....should anyone want to join us on this specific day, your are most welcome

Can you see the pictures for the Val d'Uina tour on this link? If not please let me know and I'll try to figure out why.

The Val d'Uina tour as listed there is an out and back tour and can be done as a round loop too. It's a stunning tour but not the only one by a long shot.

Within reasonably close distance from Zurich I can recommend the following:
Hoch-ybrig (Contact me directly and I can suggest a way of lengthening the tour.)
Rigi (The descent is a bit steep in places but should be ridable for most)
Rinderweidhorn (Probably the least technical option, depending on how it is ridden)
Wallensee (The descent is technical and psychologically very scary as you are looking 1000m down to the lake from the trail)

In Graubunden this trail can be continued on to Davos to make a nice Lenzerheide to Davos route taking in the Landwasser river and Viaduct, Wiesen Viaduct and Gorge and Zungenschluct.

Also the Rhineschlucht is a nice tour, but not very physically demanding. (Just realised that I've not got that tour on the site yet but can give you details if you want).

I can give you further information for any of those tours or possibly provide other suggestions too if you want.

Unfortunately on July 9th I'm guiding some people making an MTB movie here in CH so won't be free myself but can help with the planning.

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Yeah....the link works fine and I see the pictures. Stunning.

I will check out your other suggestions and discuss it with my friend.

Thanks for your input - highly appreciated.

BTW... Just to be sure. Riding in the Val d'Uina gallery itself is technically challenging (at least it was when I rode it) and any mistake could be fatal. There are signs at the entrance on each side warning cyclists to dismount.

I noticed that part at the end of your tour description. If we go there we will get of the bikes and walk through the gallery as you mentioned.

This one might be a bit more technical than you want but it is an absolutely EPIC day out. It is a lot more physically demanding than 800m of climbing suggests.

It can be made technically easier and physically more demanding by Starting in Melchsee-Frutt instead of Engelberg and riding up to Balmeggerhorn. Then you can descend the road on the last section instead of single track. I can easily send you a map marking the sections to look out for and how to do it the less technical way... Or send you a GPX for the route as it is described. It is technical though I've taken groups on the route twice and both times a couple of people opted for the road option on the last descent.

I'll be guiding that route (technical version) on the weekend after (July 16th) and everyone* is welcome to join free of charge. It's a great day out in the mountains with a good bunch of people.

*Everyone who is happy to accept that it is a technical tour and there is an element of risk involved in riding technical high alpine routes. We move at the pace of the slowest rider and don't mind if people walk sections instead of riding them if they are unsure.

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Interested in skiing, Snowboarding or Mountain Biking in Switzerland? Information in English available here.